Traveling to Playa Hermosa

A promised picture from yesterday's horseback riding in Monteverde

After an early wake-up and delicious breakfast, our students hopped on the buses and we made our way from the mountains to Playa Hermosa on the Central Pacific Coast. World-reknown for its consistent, powerful breakers and miles of modestly developed beach, this area is a surfing hot spot. Sadly, we all left our surfboards at home so we'll need to find other ways to entertain ourselves on the beach!

Sneaking up on crocodiles

As usual, our tour guides broke up the long drive with a snack stop, a river wildlife tour to search for crocodiles, and a canopy tour in a gondola. The climate along the coast is hot, even by Costa Rica standards, which left our students dragging a bit and happy to not be hiking as they enjoyed a free ride in the boat and gondola. After seeing relatively few animals on the trip, we had fantastic wildlife string of wildlife sitings which included countless birds, a sloth, white-faced monkeys, butterflies, carpenter ants, and, of course, crocodiles. The students' reactions varied depending on the animal, sometimes running towards and sometimes running away.

It didn't happen if it isn't posted (immediately) to the internet

What sharp teeth you have!

The combination of heat and bus-time left the students anxious to arrive at the beach. Our hotel in Playa Hermosa is right on the water and one of our most comfortable locations (AC and TV's are much more appreciated now). While the students will not swim in the beach here due to unpredictable currents, tomorrow we will make our way to Manuel Antonio National Park, which has a picturesque tropical beach and equally beautiful wildlife.

Hi Ms. Trenkle!

Our tour guide informed us that, despite their Fruit Loops sponsorship, toucans are actually quite mean

With just three nights left in the trip, we've hit our stride as a group and the students are meshing well. Students are pleased to have reached the beach, but they are starting to talk more about getting back home as they begin to realize that our next big stop will be DC. For now, though, we will enjoy our last few days in this beautiful country.

Pura vida!